Footsie gains as pound hit by Brexit woes

Top-tier stocks were boosted yesterday after the pound suffered losses as the mire of Brexit uncertainty took its toll.

The FTSE 100 gained 40.14 points to finish the day at 7,234.33. The mood across global stock markets was similarly bright, as hopes were lifted of a resolution to the trade dispute between the US and China.

But the optimism in American markets was dampened by poor economic growth data.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “Hopes that the latest round of Uschina trade talks will yield substantial progress didn’t have much staying power, especially in the face of America’s worse than forecast final Q4 GDP number.”

Debenhams got the green light to press ahead with a £200 million refinancing, paving the way for the likely wipeout of existing shareholders, including Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct.

Shares in the company dropped 0.71p to 2.09p. The company also announced that it would leave its head office in London and move into the upper floors of its Oxford Street branch, in an effort to cut costs.

Outsourcing giant Mitie saw shares come under pressure, dropping 10.8p to 139.2p after forecasting lower-than-expected annual profits and warning that orders shrank by around 10 per cent over the past year.

Perth-based utility giant SSE has said it was continuing to work on “future options” for its retail supply arm after the collapse of its merger with Npower last year. It also said margins had been hit by the energy price cap. Shares in SSE fell 17p to 1,203p.